


Interstitial

by Sergeant_Bluebird



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Character Study, Crossover, Dark Kingdom, Gen, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 10:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8887189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sergeant_Bluebird/pseuds/Sergeant_Bluebird
Summary: As the rain comes down, a fork in the road appears.





	

Allowing herself a moment's release, Mizuno Ami stood outside the school doors, unopened umbrella held loosely in her hand. She had stayed after math again; always the first student at school in the morning, always the last to leave. Her face tilted upward, eyes closed, letting the rain patter gently onto her face. Being cut off from her classmates had its advantages: take now, for instance. She could decompress in the cleansing peace of the rain without the stares of her classmates, could enjoy the small, agreeable noises of water striking every surface and the swishing of leaves for a brief moment without interruption.

“You should open your umbrella. We're getting wet.”

… Well, with one interruption. But one she hardly minded.

Smiling absently at the owl that shuffled on her right shoulder, Ami obligingly opened her umbrella and started down the stairs, taking her usual route homeward.

They made their way in the companionable silence that they both valued; being around their classmates had never been an easy ordeal for girl or daemon. Though she had never voiced it, Ami had harbored a vague hope that her peers would see them for what they were when Sachiko had settled the year prior. Neither of them arrogant, only shy as blooming flowers, and as delicate. She had hoped that something would shift, somehow, once the priest and his daemon had cleansed them with water and blessed them with sacred smoke. The only thing that had changed, however, was the two of them. They still ate lunch alone on the roof, keeping vigil over the neighborhood. At least it was a good place to study.

Sachiko huffed at the thought and clicked her beak together. Moving automatically, they traced the same route home that they did every day after school: past the neighboring shops, turning right after crossing the busy main street, left at the library, and then straight on until they reached their mother's condominium. Maybe that was their problem, Ami mused- being too afraid to branch out. But there was so much _risk_ involved...

“What's this?” Sachiko asked, tilting her head to read one of the bright signs that were festooned around the shopping plaza. Ami paused, drawing back to get a better look at one hung on a lamppost.

“Crystal Seminar Cram School,” Ami read aloud, squinting at the garish colors and... unusual font choices. Whoever designed this did not have an artist's touch for such things, but did manage to convey their enthusiasm. Ami thought of her father and his gentle paintings with a small pang.

“That might be worth looking into,” Sachiko said, shifting her weight as she leaned closer to the sign. Ami almost frowned, but caught herself. Diligent student though she was, she had never quite found the cram school experience as helpful as she'd hoped. Perhaps it was the thought of more rote memorization when she was really interested in figuring out how to solve problems. Sure, she could recite the names of all the bones in the human body, but she also understood the concert in which they worked with each other and the body as a whole. Besides, there was already so little balance in her life: did she really want to disrupt that?

“Maybe,” she allowed, fidgeting with her glasses.

“You did want to apply for that program in Germany,” Sachiko reminded her. “Heidelberg won't accept just anybody. Everybody who applies is already a top student, that's a given.”

 _Everyone is trying to get to your level_. Right. Ami tore off one of the perforated information tabs at the bottom of the poster.

“You know what? You're right. We should check this place out,” Ami agreed, tucking the slip into her bag. “We can check out their website when we get home.” _And maybe_ , she thought to herself as they continued along the street, _we will take a different route home today, too._

 


End file.
